1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of connectors, more specifically to a connector suitable for coupling to an edge of a panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Co-edge connectors are known and have been used to couple two edges of a board together. Existing designs, however, have been unsuitable to address certain architectural needs. For example, as depicted in FIG. 1, when coupling two panels together a co-edge connector 100 can include opposing slots to receive panels 20 and 30. Two panels will be provided with traces provided on a first side and each slot will include a plurality of terminals configured to engage the traces. Thus, the first panel 20 is inserted in the first slot and then the second panel 30 is inserted into the opposing second slot so that the terminals (not shown) couples traces on the first panel to traces on the second panel. As can be appreciated, each panel has a width 15, 16 and the connector 100 can be configured to couple two panels of different widths. Once inserted into the slot, a fastener may be used to couple the panels to the co-edge connector. More regarding such a connector is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/328,577, filed Dec. 4, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The advantage of the configuration depicted in FIG. 1 is the ability to mate two panels together without the need to solder the terminals to the panel while still providing high data rates. One potential issues, however, is that for situations where there is limited space it can be difficult to provide a slot that can ensure reliable connector between the terminals and the traces while allowing sufficient space to allow the second panel to be inserted into the slot. This is because at a minimum sufficient space is needed to allow the edge of the panel to be aligned with the slot before being inserted therein. Furthermore, if there are components mounted on a second side of the panel near the edge, then it is typically not possible to slide the second panel into the second slot. Therefore, improvements to a co-edge connector would be appreciated by certain individuals.